Tag: Resolution

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Learn a skill and use it

Now that the initial rush of New Year’s resolutions is over (if you took part or not), I believe it’s time to sit down and actually think about the rest of the year.

I am a big fan or continuous learning and the older I get, the more I see value in learning practical skills. Don’t worry if you think it’s too hard or takes too long. Most skills only take a few hours over a few weeks to get the hang of. Also, there are plenty of organizations and clubs or night schools to help you get started.

For me, it’s a simple choice: I want to learn how to look at a flat and know if it’s going to be nice to live in it. Yes, it’s time to move house again and rather than rushing in like last time, or the time before or the time before…, I want to become better at it. So I’ve decided to put all my efforts into learning how to do that. I’ll start by doing some research online on what to look out for, organizations who can help me on the learning journey and even if there are certifications which may be useful later on. After all, I’ve never found myself in a situation of having an official certificate and not needing it. More the other way around, needing official recognition and not having it. That’s why I know how important it is to have skills to start with and if there’s a certificate to be had, to get certified also.

It may sound like a rubber stamping exercise to you and I agree with this feeling. Having said that, you never know what will happen in the future and if you spend time on learning a skill, why not have a paper in your back pocket to show the world that you are capable of?

What’s your skill you will learn over the next few months?

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New Year’s Resolution – or – No Year’s Resolution?

After a long two COVID years, it’s again the start of a new year. What will you do this year? Set another New Year’s resolution or not? Will you simply revisit last year’s? Or will you change the type of resolution you have made in the past?

There are so many different ways of looking at this topic and I’ve been there, done that, tried pretty much all of them. I guess you may have tried them all or most of them as well. Do you have a favorite amongst the resolutions?

As for me, the most successful years where those where I had a guiding thought of where I want to get to. It mattered less whether I would hit my goal exactly as planned as long as I ended up in the approximate ball park of where I wanted to end up – or somewhere better.

Yes, there have been years when I was so focused on a goal that I actually missed out on something better. Of course, there were also years in which I didn’t focus enough to even fail. I merely fizzled out.

So what will I do this year, you ask?

For 2022, I have set myself 3 goals: one for my health, one for quality time spent with friends & family, and one for my job (aka get one). I see all these three areas as equal in my life since I don’t feel my best if either of these areas is lacking.

My goals are definitely achievable (as long as I keep working on them regularly) and will bring me joy at every step of the way. I’m a big fan of enjoying the journey as well as reaching the goal itself, so I have broken them down into smaller steps or mini goals which I can achieve (on average) weekly. If nothing else, I have something to celebrate at the end of my week when I take stock on where I am.

Most importantly though, these goals are part of a bigger picture. I want to be healthy, so I need to live an active life with daily exercise, home cooked food and steady, good habits. The goal of loosing 3kgs this year is not for the sake of loosing weight, the point is to incorporate long term habit changes that will stick and will lead me to a healthier lifestyle. It will also dovetail with learning how to cook which started during the first COVID lockdown. Once COVID will be over, I can then transfer my skills to spend time with friends & family at dinner parties and family gatherings. It feels like a win situation from every angle.

That is the spirit of New Year’s resolutions: having a direction and planning the steps towards a life that feels better to myself. Speed is less important than continuously striving for it, making the necessary changes, maintaining or adjusting the changes and turning them into habits. Also, noticing when milestones get achieved is important. Simply by writing this short article, I’ve achieved my week’s goal. Easy!

It may not be everyone’s idea of a great resolution but it is mine.